Delicate
by TheMockTurtle
Summary: When Charles Trippy meets Sociology Graduate student Andrea Medina in funny a twist of faith he's going to learn the fine line between complicated&delicate but with bad hand of cards life has dealt him he'll also learn when exactly it's okay to fold or else he'll come out losing. Because if there's anything that Charles Trippy has learned about himself- it's that he's selfish.CTFXC


Delicate

By

TheMockTurtle

**Chapter One**

_Summer, Saturday Morning, Year 6_

**Charles had woken up the same way he had been for the past six months—drenched in sweat, panting, heart rate accelerating, and alone. **

Zoey, his mutt German Shepard, had been the only one inhabiting the bedroom at this hour. The sun was barely rising and bathing the room in the soft light between dawn and bright early morning. Charles' hand came up to smooth over his anguished face, feeling the stubble on his face and faintly reminded of his poor upkeep. He closed his eyes, washing out the room in darkness and inhaled deeply trying to regain his breathing pattern. This was the third time this week where Charles had woken up from the same exact dream. Normally the scene would alternate and he'd experience the same sense of anxiety and grief when he'd wake up but never to this extent.

It always started with him waking up in a hospital bed in a bright white room. He was alone and could barely move an inch of his body—he would turn his head and see Alli's tear soaked face, her blue eyes swollen and red. The anguish in his stomach would set in all over again as Charles would try to open his mouth and say something- anything, but nothing ever came to mind except the horrible feeling settling in his stomach to see her tawny figure staring at her hands. He was destroying her all over again.

"I told you…" came her shaky whisper and she would turn to look at him a distressed face, "Why didn't you listen…?" it wasn't hostile, it was full of warmth and fear.

Charles tried to speak again but it was rendering him useless as he felt his tongue weighing heavy in his mouth, his lips lazily shut to one another. All he could do was watch her helplessly fall apart over and over in front of her. In his mind flashed all the things he wanted to say and needed to say but they fell short.

"You think it's easy." Finally sprung from his lips in a croak hoarse whisper, "I'm nothing." And she didn't look at him and the anger in him boiled over again and again until he could push himself to yell it.

"I'm NOTHING." And he could feel his chest warming from the heat of his screams, "NOTHING." She refused to meet his eyes, she stared down at her hands, he could see the tears leaving their marks on them.

"I'm nothing." She whispered back, "You made me nothing."

"No." He could feel his chest rippling from the desperation of the situation, "That's not true, I'm nothing. I'm nothing." He kept hissing until she turned to look at him and the anguish in her face tore him down again and again.

Charles wanted to move and get up and make her see that it was him who was nothing, not her, but it failed—his body fell limp to his will. He tried repeatedly while she sat and watching him struggle and shout.

Then he'd wake up soaked in his sweat, the shout caught in his throat as if choking on it, and his heart pounding hard against his tight chest.

It had been the third time this week.

Charles turned his head to finally greet whatever hour his nightmare had decided to wake him today. The clock showed that it was a quarter to seven and he groaned before rolling over to watch his concerned bed partner—Zoe. She eyed him before nudging him with her nose and Charles sighed reaching out to pet her.

"Another bad dream, Zo-zo." He croaked from the strain put on his throat during his nightmare. He stared out to the wide French doors leading to the backyard and the same words played over in his mind—a morning ritual to remind himself he was alive.

Divorce, cancer, divorce, cancer.

Charles Trippy had been fighting brain cancer since October 2013, with two surgeries and multiple seizures he felt he was winning the fight… but what he lost to it? A two year marriage to a woman he had grown to love and create a life on their YouTube daily life series. It had naturally been much more than the strain of cancer of their relationship—if anything the cancer was the catalyst to her feelings of inadequacy, unfulfillment, dissatisfaction to be able to call anything to her, her complete dependency on Charles' YouTube business. Of course this only spiked Charles' own pent demons of feeling of self-inefficiency, the complete dependency on someone, and the loss of feeling like a person. The word 'tour' and 'band' was thrown around from her and he'd shout back 'only thing I have' and he'd bring up her constantly travelling.

He clenched his eyes shut and took in a deep breath because he preferred not to replay those old arguments. The image of them walking away from each other and saying they needed to come back and discuss what they _needed_ to with more calm. Charles knew it was coming because he was sure she felt it too. And with the most calm they had ever had in their alone time the 'divorce' word was repeated and nodded on with the least amount of urgency or hesitance in their tone.

He rolled back over on his back and exhaled loudly puffing out his cheeks. Charles wasn't sure exactly where he stood for his feeling for Alli—he'd contemplate it every morning to see if he felt any different waking up in their old bed with her missing.

Charles felt blank.

As he took his waking as an early start to his day he got a jump start to shake himself from the morning mantra.

Divorce. Cancer. Divorce. Cancer.

And a new one.

Alone.

Charles fought off the poisonous thoughts by taking an impromptu walk to the park with his two ecstatic dogs—it was enough to bring a smile to his face. The warm summer mornings made it easier to do anything and he made a note to be grateful for this as he looked down to his two eager dogs, Zoey and Marley, the spotted rat terrier. He reached over to unhook their leashed and chuckled.

"Alright, off you go, brats." And they took off in a run to explore and sniff as much as they could. He thought about pulling out his camera and vlogging, he really did but in that moment he wanted to be selfish—just take a moment for himself. The empty park and the very quiet hum of the Saturday summer morning was enough for him to spoil with is talking.

He lied down on the park bench and draped an arm over his eyes, listening to the scatter of leaves in the trees with the faintest breeze and the occasional noises Zoey and Marley made—mostly Marley. It couldn't be past ten and he could already feel the summer heat pulsing through the branches of the tree overhead. Charles sighed deeply to himself and concentrated on the natural silence that fell around him.

He just wanted a moment to himself to be able to call his own, without the world needing to know about that one fragmented second—

"Arf! Arf!"

Marley's high pitched barks and growls shattered through Charles' pathetic attempt of stealing a moment for himself and his eyes fluttered open with a swift swing of his arm moving off his face. Marley's barks were followed by an off guard squeal which only seemed to egg Marley's incessant barking.

Call it a force a habit; call it what you will but Charles had reached into his pocket swiftly with a pounding heart for his camera and followed the sounds of Marley's barks. He stopped short at the scene from behind a few trees to see what the commotion had been about.

Marley was busy nuzzling something on the ground with whimpered growls and next to her was a park bench; similar to the one Charles had been resting on, where a dark haired girl had promptly clambered to stand on away from Marley. Her hands clutching onto a book as she peered down with a shocked expression written on her light olive complexion. How Charles had missed anyone else in the park at this time was beyond him.

Coming to his senses Charles stomped on the floor to bring Marley's attention to him.

"Marley!" Charles snapped, the camera dangling lifelessly in his hand. The dog looked up guiltily at her owner, her ears pulled back in a scolded manner. She whimpered into the half eaten apple on the ground and nuzzled it towards Charles in an apologetic manner. Charles moved closer to the scene and felt the heat of embarrassment reaching the base of his neck.

He brought himself to look at the stranger who was desperately trying to regain her composure climbing off the picnic table with tinged red cheeks, refusing to make eye contact.

"I'm so sorry." Charles began lifting his hands up in surrender, "Did my dog—hurt, bother, I dunno—I'm so embarrassed right now, sorry."

The girl had a hard time removing her gaze away from Marley as he stepped cautiously back onto the park's floor. She glanced at him briefly flushed and met Charles' flabbergasted figure, her hand reached up unconsciously to her messy brain and the hand fell to her chest in attempts to calm her racing heart.

"Yeah, I mean no." The girl shook her head and clenched her eyes shut to clear her thoughts, "She just sort of got… excited at the sight of my apple, I was too distracted reading," she held up her book for good measure, "and I kinda had the apple loose in my hand, so I guess she reached for it and I freaked out… so she did too…?"

When she opened her eyes again from retelling the story Charles could see she was repressing the smile trying to break across her face at how ridiculous the imagery might be received.

Charles fought the urge to chuckle and the heat remained on his neck none the less as he tried to shake the feeling, "I'm so sorry, she's such a jerk when she wants to be—is there anything I could do?"

The girl looked back towards Marley who had now fully immersed herself in eating the apple, "Oh… no, it's fine really. Not harm done." She shook her head and stepped away from Marley for good measure, "Is she suppose to…?"

Charles knitted his eyebrows then turn to look down at Marley eating the apple, "Marley! No!" he scolded and Marley pulled away and took off in a run in the opposite direction.

"God, that's so embarrassing, that's the first time she's ever done anything like that. I feed her, I swear." Charles insisted and looked back to the girl who was staring off to Marley with an amused grin on her face.

"Please, it's fine, really." The girl laughed at last and turned to Charles with more confidence, "I hope I didn't scare you with my shrieking."

He felt his tense shoulders relax a bit and allowed himself to chuckle and shake his head, "No. I was more worried about what the little jerk had done this time." There was an awkward silence a she fidgeted under his gaze and Charles looked in desperation to Marley in the distance.

The girl smiled awkwardly and cleared her throat, "Well, uh… I'm just going to—" and she pointed to her book.

"Oh! Right! Right! Sorry," Charles smiled awkwardly and he stuck out his hand, "I'm Charles, by the way, owner of the little jerk."

The girl smiled politely and reached for his hand, "Andrea, bad luck with dogs and apples." Charles chuckled again and he couldn't help but notice the way her smile reached her eyes—it was almost uncomfortable to watch from how contagious it felt.

He looked from Marley to her victim and felt an unease stirring inside him, the embarrassment formulating all over again.

"Look," He spoke before he really knew what he was doing, but something deep inside him wasn't fine with just apologizing, "I'm really sorry about my dog, is there any possible way I could make it up to you?" and he felt the burn on his neck travel behind his ears.

Andrea chuckled politely and shook her head, "No, please don't worry yourself I'm absolutely fine."

"Maybe coffee or tea or a protein shake, whatever you're into?" Charles insisted since the incessant knack to redeem Marley's behaviour persistent in his mind, "I just feel really bad about what she did. If you don't accept it for yourself, at least accept my offer to let me feel a bit more at ease?" He added playfully and immediately regretted for being so honest.

Andrea chewed on her lip nervously before looking down at her book and contemplating it; Charles could almost see the gears in her head turning.

"I promise the pages will still be there if you let me buy you Starbucks."

Andrea looked up at him with a lopsided grin and a defeated nod, "Fine, a cup of coffee could help me get through this." And she gestured to the book once more.

The short walk to Starbucks had been quiet and awkward with Marley's Napoleon Complex kicking in ever so often and continuously embarrassing Charles which earned Andrea a chuckle for ever complaint Charles gave.

Once they had settled down outside Charles finally took her in and noticed her hoodie, "Are you a bull as well?" he grinned in reference to University of South Florida's mascot.

Andrea looked confused for a split second then grinned as it dawned on her, "Yes, go bulls." She cheered dully as she smiled into her coffee—the same smile that had been making him unnaturally uncomfortable as it reached her eyes again.

"Go bulls." Charles echoed with a chuckle and he squinted in the sunlight, "So are you currently a student because you don't… look like one." Then he caught himself and rubbed his face in embarrassment, "What I mean to say is: you don't look like a freshman…. God, even that sounded—not polite."

Andrea wrinkled her face at his inner struggle but smiled none the less, "No, you're right. I'm thankfully not a freshman. I'm in my last Masters year."

Charles perked up at her dismissal of his fumble for words, "Oh really? What're you studying?" he moved to take a sip of his coffee and watched her fidget uncomfortably, "That bad?"

Andrea tried to smile but said it as if it pained her, "Sociology, with a concentration in sociology of culture." She winced despite Charles' interested reaction, "Because you know, I really want to make money."

Charles chuckled and shook his head, "No, no, that's awesome, you're doing something different, that's respectable."

"I guess you can say that." Andrea shrugged but then pointed towards him with her coffee. A sly smile took over her features and for the first time Charles noticed the honey hue of her eyes as they held an essence of playfulness, "And you… pardon, but don't look exactly look freshman material."

Charles released an unexpected deep rumbling laugh for the first time in a while, "No, no, I'm an alumni already." He squinted to calculate the age difference and frowned, "A good while now actually, I studied Communications and marketing." Andrea nodded respectfully and then a silence settled between them.

Charles could feel himself growing anxious for no apparent reason as the silence began to turn uncomfortable. It had been a while since he had been able to talk and have a normal conversation without it ending in 'are you okay?' and 'is it okay if I ask about—' and he couldn't bring himself to even think of the name. He fidgeted idly with his straw.

"I'm sorry again about your apple."

"If you say sorry one more time I might have to walk away." Andrea teased with a slight smile and something inside Charles tugged in fear that she might actually keep to her word. Her honey colored eyes squinted in the sunlight and Charles found himself staring longer than he should have.

"I would apologize again, but I rather not fuel the fire." He teased back and looked to her fully for the first time in confidence this time there was no fidgeting and no anxious wavering.

Her smile stretched wide across her light olive complexion, her black hair falling limp in the messy braid she had earlier fiddled with, and her eyes finally met him—a meld of hazel and honey and the sides wrinkling into that smile that made Charles unnaturally uncomfortable. Andrea's face was softened in kindness, no harsh pointed angles and bathed in the warm morning sun as she kept squinted before turning to look away.

Sincerity.

That was what made him so uncomfortable. Right?

There had been so little of it in Charles' life lately. There had been too many fake smiles and too many forced words of encouragement. He felt himself exhale and laugh lightly, a distant but familiar release crawling back to memory.

"So uh… Charles," she tested out his name for the first time with confidence although refusing to meet his eye and speaking to her coffee cup, "You live in the Sarasota area?"

He tried not to think of the incessant nagging at the back of his mind that was his large empty home, "Yeah, for now at least. I was thinking of maybe moving more north or… south."

"Sarasota just not doing it for you?" there it was again, that spread of a smile covering her soft face in… sincerity.

Charles scuffed his shoe under the table, "Yeah, you could say that." It was hard that even after almost half a year from the separation every conversation somehow found its way back to that redundant roundabout.

Andrea shifted uncomfortably in her seat seeing it might have touched a sensitive topic, "Uh… well if it makes you feel any better, I really want out of the Sarasota area—the bay area in general… I'm thinking maybe, New Zealand kind of out?"

Charles chuckled and nodded, "I'm with you on that one." He looked to see Zoey and Marley lounging lazily next to him, he was trying very hard to not give into the thought—not now when he was actually having a good time with a stranger who seemed to know nothing about him enough to tip-toe around him.

Cancer. Divorce. Cancer. Divorce—

"For what it's worth, they're freaking adorable." Andrea cut through the poisonous mantra and she leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the two dogs sunbathing.

"Yeah, but that cuteness fades quickly at seven A.M." Charles muttered and for the first time in their encounter he heard Andrea truly laugh: a loud, heartfelt, chest shaking laugh.

Charles turned to look at her slightly shocked but amused. Andrea sat already blushing as she subdued the laugh into quiet giggles.

"I'm sorry," she whispered with her hand reaching up to her mouth, "the imagery was enough to send me packing to Inappropriate Town."

There it was. That contagious spread that Charles couldn't help himself to anymore and gave in, he smiled wide and invitingly for the first time in months.

"I'm the mayor of Inappropriate Town, let me the first to welcome you," he stuck out his hand again, this time playfully and exaggeratedly, "Population you, me, and the entire cast of _Whose Line_." Andrea looked down at his hand to his face with her smile still splaying across her warm face.

She took his hand in hers in a brief moment of confidence and shook it exaggeratedly, "I can't say its bad company. We could be stuck in Morbid's Ville with Louis C.K. and Russell Brand."

Charles made a face, released her hand and reached for his coffee again, "Ick. No. Although I hear it's nice in Misogynistropolis with Daniel Tosh and Seth Macfarlane."

Andrea released the echo of her previous laugh, "You can't be serious."

Charles looked down to his coffee smiling before he gave in chuckling, "I can't ever be that serious about Daniel Tosh."

"I don't think anyone can be." Andrea murmured through giggles.

Then, since the first time since their encounter, they fell into a comfortable silence. Silent smiles played on their lips as they squinted in the sun and peered at the dogs, the passersby's, or glanced at one another. In the mere minutes of silence the nagging sensation at the back of Charles' head had finally won.

"This is gonna sound really weird but," Charles said through the silence and she turned to watch him with knitted eyebrows, "you're pretty cool and I still feel pretty bad about my dog's apple obsession, so I was wondering—like… I play for this band and—" he started chuckling and shaking his head, "this is NOT coming out right."

Andrea laughed past her confused expression, "You're over thinking this too much, just say it."

"Well, would you care to come out and hang out with us tomorrow tonight—drinks would be on me."

He had hoped desperately that it in no way resembled a date.

Andrea had hoped that that in no way resembled a date.

And in the silence as the both contemplated it, there was unanimous smile that showed it was completely friendly on both sides.

Andrea looked at him through squinted eyes, "One condition." And she brought the straw between her teeth as she eyed him apprehensively.

Charles looked perplexed. Was she setting a condition to _his _proposal, "Okay…?" he asked tentatively.

"Does your band play polka music?"

Charles felt the bubble of laughter escape his lips again, enough to excite Marley to hear her owner laugh as much in one sitting.

"No, we don't."

"Bagpipes?"

"No, no bagpipes." Charles managed through chuckles disbelieving what he was being asked.

"Okay true test, if you guys are a band of recorder players, I'm gonna have to pass."

"Recorder players? How would that—nevermind, no." Charles laughed as Andrea sat fighting the smile from her face.

"We play rock music, like… rock pop …kinda sound. I'm the bassist."

Andrea almost choked on her coffee the smile almost wiping off her face, "I'm sorry?"

Charles looked at her concerned raising an eyebrow, "I play the bass?"

Andrea tried to maintain her composure, "That's cool." And smiled none the less.

"So, was that the deal breaker?" Charles probed smirking.

Andrea grinned with the straw between her teeth, "So far your band has passed the test."

She looked to him with knitted eyebrows, "I can imagine that Communications degree is on the back burner for now?" at this point Andrea was obviously underestimating the degree of Charles' band popularity.

Charled smirked, "Something like that. Listen, if you exchange numbers with me I can text you the place and time and I'll put you on the list. Sound like a plan?"

"As long as I'm not Jim Carrey in _Yes Man _and you're Zooey Deschanel inviting him to her show, it's cool with me." She leaned back watching him gather his things with very attentive honey eyes.

"You'll be the fifth person there, it'll be promising." Charles teased getting up from his chair seeing Marley beginning to get restless at his sudden movement.

Andrea watched with a large grin.

"Will you know us all by name too?" Andrea teased as she reached in her pocket and handed him her phone and accepted his as he preceded to hand it to her.

"It'll be a full house, don't know if I'll be able to remember your name when the stage lights hit. Tony, Mark, Megan, and Joseph will be a handful already to keep up with." He punched in his details, excluding his last name, the grin growing larger and larger on his face, an air of playful arrogance evident.

"Slow down there, buddy, seems like this fame is getting to your head. Let's save some of that sass-talk for the paparazzi." Andrea handed his phone back and waited for him to finish. She leaned forward on the table, propping up her elbow to rest her cheek on her hand. She squinted up at him with a playful smile.

Charles looked at her without a word, smiling and decided it was best to just shake his head as he handed back her phone.

"I'll text you the details later tomorrow." Charles simply said and picked up the girls' leashes, "It was nice meeting you Andrea…" he peeked at his phone, "Medina?"

Andrea smiled, "Nice meeting you too, Charles." She ended politely; teasing rendered to a rest and waved him off with her book at hand again.

It wasn't to say Charles couldn't stop thinking about Andrea the rest of the day; on the contrary she was very easily dismissed once he arrived home. The large empty home was enough to distract him from any enjoyment he had fulfilled for the rest of the day visiting his sister or parents.

That evening when Charles sat down to edit his footage of the day he was scrolling through everything on his memory until he stopped over the askew frame of Marley. He clicked play and the events of this afternoon played all over. His rapid jog to the commotion where Andrea stood on the picnic table until the footage took an awkward angle from dangling from his hand.

"_Marley!"_ He heard himself snap in the footage followed by his brief apology to Andrea until the footage cut out. He chuckled to himself as he played it over and paused on Andrea's startle figure perched on the picnic table. Charles chuckled to himself again before moving it to another folder of footage that wouldn't go live on his YouTube page.

He went to bed that night replaying the footage of Andrea's petrified stance on the table in his head and smiling to himself in the comedy of it all.


End file.
